Build more museums and parks for economic progress, not just condos and malls!

Is it true that only rich cities and countries that can afford to build museums, parks and cultural centers should invest in these luxuries? Or is it part of the duty of the state to make public investments in such institutions to accelerate and deepen overall socioeconomic development?

Why is it that few of our political leaders — despite their purported high education— have prioritized the need to construct more museums, parks, art galleries and public libraries for Philippine socioeconomic development?

Why have we allowed many of our cities to just drift along and become overcrowded concrete jungles accumulating more condos, BPOs and shopping malls?

Let us emulate cities like Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, London, Berlin, etc. which have built good museums and public spaces as part of their strategic blueprints for sustainable socioeconomic progress.

QCX is a noble investment

More than just the intangible advantages of cultural, moral and spiritual well-being for the ennobling of the people, museums and other cultural institutions do have a direct positive economic impact on cities, such as the economic impact of a new museum of the Gaudí Centre on the local economy of Reus, a city in the province of Tarragona (southern Catalonia), Spain.

Scholars have used the Keynesian Income Multiplier Model to “capture the direct and indirect effects of the cultural asset on the local income.” The researchers concluded: “Our results show that the museum has a considerable impact on the local economy and suggest that cultural investments can play an important role in generating income at a local level.”

Last Nov. 9 was a momentous day for Metro Manila with the inauguration of QCX — short for The Quezon City Experience. It is a huge interactive socio-cultural museum and green-compliant building with 16 galleries. QCX is expected to revitalize not only the Quezon Memorial Circle where it is located, but also culturally and economically enrich the whole city.

Despite her six years of hard work to realize this dream project of QCX, Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte just stayed on the sidelines while the photo ops for the official ribbon-cutting ceremonies were happening, led by the supportive Mayor Herbert M. Bautista and Congresswoman Leni G. Robredo as the guest of honor.

Commenting on the makeup of QCX, Vice Mayor Belmonte explained: “QCX doesn’t put too much emphasis on political leaders, but more on the people of Quezon City, the different businesses, schools, communities, etc. A city’s true greatness emanates from the people.”

Rep.. Leni Robredo told me: “Ang galing, nakakainggit (This is so impressive, we envy their excellence), the level of details, the blood, sweat and efforts put into this. We are now also doing a museum in Naga City about my husband, the late Secretary Jesse Robredo, and I’m inviting Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte to visit and give us advice.” 

Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, book author and cultural historian, said: “QCX is the first city museum in the Philippines of this size and with this depth of understanding of the role of the city and of citizenship.”

50% more people visit British museums than West End

In 2006, the National Museums Directors Council (NMDC) and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) commissioned Tony Travers of the London School of Economics to analyze some of Britain’s top museums and galleries to measure visitor traffic, socioeconomic and civic impacts. The economic benefits of British major museums and galleries were estimated to be £1.5 billion per year. More than 42 million visits annually were recorded for major museums and galleries, “50 percent more than the number of people who annually visit the West End and Broadway theaters combined.”

The study stated: “Seven of the top 10 visitor attractions in the UK are museums. Museums and galleries are a significant factor in attracting visitors to the UK.”

In Asia, museums are being built in societies at the cutting edge of economic and social development. By the end of this year, according to its last five-year plan, China will have built 3,500 museums, a target it achieved three years early.

Among the best tourist attractions of city-state Singapore are its many museums and galleries.

The Philippines and AIIB, TPP, RCEP, new Silk Road

Various think tanks and business organizations such as Integrated Development Studies Institute (IDSI), CenPEG, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI),  Philippine Asia Institute of Strategic Studies joined the Pandesal Forum at Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City last Nov. 11. PhilExport, the Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines (CONGEP) and other groups, also sent their messages of support for the initiative.

Resource speakers were PCCI honorary chairman Donald G. Dee, Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) EVP Henry Lim Bon Liong, CenPEG fellows Ateneo Professor Benito Lim and University of the Philippines (UP) professor Bobby Tuazon, Cambridge University-educated international lawyer Atty. Gemy Gatdula and others. They urged the Philippines to seek greater economic benefits by joining the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and other international groups, pointing out that many countries from South Korea to Britain are already among the earliest founding members.

South Korea is a strategic US ally and it has a history of warfare with China due to the 1950s Korean War when China sided with its foe, North Korea; but a pragmatic win-win approach by South Korea has led to its joining the China-led AIIB last March. In the same way, Vietnam is ideologically different from and was at war with the US before, but Vietnam has joined the US-led TPP. Why has the Philippines not yet become part of the AIIB and TPP?

The resource speakers added that all these international arrangements can positively benefit the Philippine economy if we first and foremost boost our global competitiveness, modernize our business processes, boost our infrastructure spending, education of our human resources, etc.

ICC Philippines to be launched in 2016

I heard at the recent Philippine Business Conference that the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will officially launch its Philippine national committee in mid-2016 to be spearheaded by a group of businessmen led by Ambassador Francis Chua as founding chairman and Jess Varela sa director general.

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